The Canadian Ice Service (CIS), a branch of the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC), is the leading authority for information about ice in Canada's navigable waters.

Ice in its many forms - sea ice, lake ice, river ice and icebergs - covers our country's waters like nowhere else. As a result, ice touches Canadian life in many ways and it affects:

• marine transportation in Canada's heartland as well as in the North
• commercial fishing
• offshore resource development
• the hunting and fishing patterns of aboriginal peoples
• tourism and recreation
• local weather patterns and long-term climate

Ice in Canada:
Some Interesting Facts

In winter, ice normally covers an area of 4 million square kilometers in Canadian waters.

From winter to the end of summer, the amount of ice that melts is enough to cover the surface of 60% of Canada's provinces!

Every year, roughly 40,000 icebergs migrate through Canada's eastern waters. Only the Pacific Coast of Canada is unaffected by ice.